Recombinant DNA technology has reached the point currently of being capable, in principle, of providing the methodology sufficient to identify, isolate and characterize DNA sequences, configure them for insertion into operative expression vectors and transfect those vectors variously into recombinant hosts such that those hosts are harnessed in their ability to produce the polypeptide encoded by the DNA sequence. Obviously, many variations attend the methodology associated with recombinant DNA technology, and particular means are not without inventive faculty. Nonetheless, methods are generally known in the published literature enabling requisite mental equipment for the art skilled to practice recombinant DNA technology in the production of polypeptides from a given recombinant host system.
Immunoglobulins (Igs) are the main effectors of humoral immunity, a property linked with their ability to bind antigens of various types. In view of the myriad numbers of antigens to a particular host organism, it can be appreciated that there are a like number or more of immunoglobulins that contain antigenic determinants or epitopes against particular such antigens. Immunoglobulin molecules are unique in their functionality of being capable of localizing to certain cell types, probably by means of mutual recognition of certain receptors that are located on the cell membrane. Immunoglobulins demonstrate a second general property whereby they act as endogenous modulators of the immune response. Igs and their idiotypic determinants have been used to immunize at the B- and/or T-cell level against a variety of exogenous antigens. In many cases, the immunity they evoke is comparable with that induced by the antigen itself. Although the principle underlying this phenomenon is understood, little is known about the molecular basis and the minimal structural requirements for the immunogenicity of Igs molecules and the interaction between those regions which may be responsible for such immunogenicity and the regions that are thought to provide the localization of a given immunoglobulin molecule with a particular cell/receptor type.
In the last many years, much progress has been made in endeavors to understand the immunogenic properties, structure and genetics of immunoglobulins. See Jeske, et al., Fundamental Immunology, Paul, ed., Raven Press, New York (1984), p 131 and Kabat, Journal Immunology 141, 525 (1988). Initially, the antigenicity of the so-called variable (V) domain of antibodies was demonstrated. Oudin, et al., Academy of Sciences D 257, 805 (1963) and Kunkel, et al., Science 140, 1218 (1963). Subsequently, further research pointed out the existence of discrete areas of variability within V regions and introduced the notion of hypervariable (HV) or complementarily-determining regions (CDR). Wu, et al., J. Exp. Med. 132, 211 (1970). Many studies since have indicated that the immunogenic property of Ig molecules is determined presumably primarily by amino acid sequence contained in the CDRs. Davie, et al., Ann. Rev. Immunol. 4, 147 (1986).
The basic immunoglobulin or antibody structural unit is well understood. The molecule consists of heavy and light chains held together covalently through disulfide bonds. The heavy chains are also covalently linked in a base portion via disulfide bonds and this portion is often referred to as the so-called constant region which is thought responsible for a given immunoglobulin molecule being mutually recognizable with certain sequences found at the surface of particular cells. There are five known major classes of constant regions which determine the class of the immunoglobulin molecule and are referred to as IgG, IgM, IgA, IgD and IgE. The N-terminal regions of the so-called heavy chains branch outwardly in a pictorial sense so as to give an overall Y-shaped structure. The light chains covalently bind to the Y branches of the two heavy chains. In the regions of the Y branches of the heavy chains lies a domain of approximately 100 amino acids in length which is variable, and therefore, specific for particular antigenic epitopes incidental to that particular immunoglobulin molecule.
It is to the Y branches containing the variable domains harboring the antigenic epitopes to which the particular attention is directed as a predicate of the present invention.
Prior researchers have studied and manipulated entire CDRs of immunoglobulins, producing chimeric molecules that have reported functionality. Exemplary attention is directed to Jones, et al., Nature 321, 522 (1986) reporting on a V-region mouse-human chimeric immunoglobulin molecule. This research thus amounted to a substantially entire CDR replacement as apparently does the research reported by Verhoeyen, et al., Science 239, 1534 (1988); Riechmann, et al., Nature 332, 323 (1988); and by Morrison, Science 229, 1202 (1985). See also European Patent Application Publication No. 125023A, published 14 Nov. 1984.
Bolstered by the successful research summarized above that resulted presumably in functional chimeric molecules, the goal of the present research was to explore further the variable region contained in the N-terminus Y branches. It was a goal of the present research to manipulate these variable regions by introduction or substitution of novel determinants or epitopes so as to create novel immunoglobulin molecules that would possibly retain the localization functionality and yet contain functional heterologous epitopes. In this manner, the novel immunoglobulin molecules hereof could be employed for use within the organism at foreign sites, thereby imparting immunity characteristics in a novel site-directed manner. A problem facing the present researchers at that time lay in the fact that epitopes are found in a region of the Y branch. Therefore, it was difficult to envision whether any manipulation of the variable region would be possible without disrupting the interaction of heavy chain with the corresponding light chain, and if that proved inconsequential, whether the resultant molecule would retain its functionality, with respect to the novel epitope, in combination with the constant region of the basic immunoglobulin molecule. Thus, even hurdling the problem of where to experiment, it was not possible to predict whether one could successfully produce such novel, bifunctional immunoglobulin molecules.
The present research and invention is based upon the successful threshold experiment, producing model, novel immunoglobulin molecules found to be fully functional by virtue of their ability to localize on certain cell/receptor sites and elicit reactivity to the antigens specific for the introduced novel antigenic determinant or epitope.